ICC plans to induct more women umpires in cricket top panels
Now, women umpires won’t be a rarity in cricket, as with passing times and gender equality being considered a huge topic of debates and discussions everywhere including in the sporting world, women are gradually taking up roles in every sphere of the sports industry to prove their mettle.
The world cricket body ICC is now working to induct women umpires into its panel which as of now has only men in it. With this, the global cricket body International Cricket Council will also look to have women officiating in men’s international games.
“The initiative is to make umpiring a gender-neutral profession or opportunity in the cricket world. The first target is to get women to function in a few of the men’s bilateral matches so that the purpose for the Elite panel to have both men and women on it will be fulfilled,” an ICC source informed TOI.
Last year the FIFA World Cup in Qatar witnessed women officiating matches.
The International Cricket Council also aspires to have women in men’s ICC events. As of now, the global body has two panels of umpires – Elite and International and, the host board appoints umpires for women’s international bilateral matches.
“An idea for this global growth strategy is to increase coverage of female match officials,” the source said, adding that this includes consultation with members, and recreating the selection criteria process to get more female match officials and high-quality umpires.
This is why ICC is preparing a roadmap to appoint someone to head the panel of match officials.
KIM COTTON AND JACQUELINE WILLIAMS AS ON-FIELD UMPIRES
Kim Cotton from New Zealand was named as one of the two on-field umpires officiating the encounter during the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup showpiece final which was played on Sunday between South Africa and Australia.
She officiated the T20 World Cup final for the second consecutive time along with Jamaican cricket umpire Jacqueline Williams.
Cotton was also a part of the epic match played between India’s Women’s team and Australia’s women’s team. Williams, on the other hand, was a part of South Africa’s six-run win against England.
Williams took charge of South Africa’s six-run win against England which took the Proteas into their first-ever World Cup final whereas, Cotton umpired in Australia’s five-run victory over India.
The pair was supported by TV Umpire Suzanne Redfern, who earlier carried out a similar role in the first semi-final and fourth umpire Nimali Perera.
Read more- India vs Australia: BCCI announces squad for last two Tests and ODIs
HOW THE FUTURE LOOKS LIKE FOR FEMALE UMPIRES?
In the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, not just the players showcased their talent and expectations but also, many other female umpires encouraged other women at the competition on the world stage.
Also, at the beginning of the tournament, it was announced that, for the first time in ICC history, an all-female panel would officiate the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in which, three match referees and 10 umpires will officiate the event.
Wasim Khan, who is the General Manager of the International Cricket Council (ICC), shared his excitement about having an all-female panel to officiate the World Cup matches saying that this move was not only necessary but also long due, as women’s cricket has been growing in popularity and it was essential to give women the option to enrol in jobs in every sphere of the sports industry.
Snehal Pradhan who is the ICC manager of women’s cricket, in the same vein, said, “When young women and girls see it, they believe that they can be it.”
“It also shows the next generation that there is a career and a pathway that takes them to the very top of the game, the World Cup, even if you’re not a player. It shows that there are so many ways to get involved,” Pradhan added.
FIRST INDIAN WOMAN IN HISTORY TO OFFICIATE AS AN ON-FIELD UMPIRE
Vrinda Rathi who hails from Navi Mumbai started her thrilling journey from the maidans of Mumbai.
The 33-year-old, before coming out with flying colours in the BCCI scorers exam, used to score local matches. Notably, Rathi was the official BCCI scorer for the 2013 Women’s World Cup.
Thereafter, the Mumbai-based umpire decided to switch to an umpiring role, after she was second-ranked in the Level 2 exam of the BCCI to become India’s first female umpire.
Rathi, recently, also officiated in the Goa versus Pondicherry clash at Porvorim in Ranji Trophy.
It is also worth mentioning that Vrinda Rathi was also a part of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) panel of development umpires back in 2020.
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